Original subtitles

[kids chattering, indistinct]

[both grunting]

[yells]

[chuckles]

What do you say to a few hoops?

Are you out of your mind?

Possibly.

I've been cooped up in a ship for five days.

Well, I'm sorry for you, fella, but I gotta conserve my strength.

I...

I get married on Tuesday.

Brilliant.

That's if I get back from Nanjing on time. I drive for the Red Cross.

Really? You're going to Nanjing?

Yeah. Two days before my wedding.

I'd say that calls for a drink.

- Okay. - Maybe I can help your plans along.

All right.

[jazz music]

I repeat. Nanjing is closed to the press.

Ask the Japs. It's their call. Not ours.

- Barnes. This is my good friend Andy... - Fisher.

Fisher. Terrific fellow. He's here to see his girl.

I'm George Hogg.

Hi, Daisy. Meet Roger Appsley.

An ungrateful shit from the British embassy.

Mr. Fisher and I have already met.

- Hey, honey. - How are you?

- Excuse me, gentlemen. - Come on.

- That's his girl? - He's marrying her on Tuesday.

He won't be here on Tuesday.

He's headed straight for hell himself in the morning.

You bastard! You've got him a pass to Nanjing?

- Barnes! - How long have we known each other,

- you asshole? Ten years? - Will you excuse us, Mr. Appsley?

Come on, Barnes.

He's not press. Andy Fisher, Red Cross.

That's why he got a pass.

[jazz continues]

[camera clicks]

[George] I made a deal with Andy Fisher.

He gave me his Red Cross papers and his truck.

They'll get us into Nanjing. Barnes, we've got a scoop.

I'm Andy Fisher.

You're David Barcley.

We're accredited drivers for the Red Cross,

bringing medical supplies to Nanjing.

In this.

Andy Fisher's in love, Barnes. He wants to get married.

- Now everybody's happy. - Christ, you're nuts.

- Damn! Eddie! - Eddie?

Eddie Wei. He's in the back. You know, the photographer from New Delhi.

Yeah. I know who the hell he is. But what's he doing here?

[George] He was desperate to come with us.

[man yells]

[brakes squeak]

Set your watch an hour ahead, Daisy. We're now on Tokyo time.

[George] Do you want to know what they're saying in Tokyo?

They say they're trying to help the Chinese, but it's chaos over here.

Warlords, corruption, civil war. The Nationalists against the Communists.

- They say they're trying to restore order. - [camera clicks]

- That's all bullshit. - They haven't declared war on China.

I'll tell you why they haven't declared war on China.

It's because if they don't declare war,

they don't have to treat captured Chinese soldiers as prisoners of war.

They don't have to play by any goddamn rules at all.

- The Japanese are not savages. - But they've decided the Chinese are.

Take a good, long look, Daisy.

- There's thousands of them. - [car horn beeps]

And they're all coming from Nanjing.

The next Great War's already begun.

The folks back home just don't know it yet.

- [men shouting, indistinct] - [George] Shit.

[shouts in foreign language]

Halt! [shouts in foreign language]

[engine stops]

The papers say we're both from the States, so try and talk American.

Of course, old chap.

[distant gunfire]

[speaking foreign language]

[officer]

[villagers shouting]

[dog barking]

If you're not back here by 9:00 tomorrow night, I'll go without you.

Okay.

Good luck, Eddie.

[coughs]

[villagers chattering in foreign language]

[camera clicks]

[camera clicks]

[camera clicks]

[shouting in foreign language]

Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Okay.

[distant gunfire]

[brakes squeal]

[men chattering in foreign language]

[camera clicks]

[typewriter clacking]

[George's voice] Writing from a ruined building.

A truckload of Japanese troops outside.

The city is quiet.

[men shouting in foreign language]

[camera clicking]

[soldiers and villagers chattering]

[children crying]

[men shouting in foreign language]

[women and children wailing]

[shouts in foreign language]

[villagers shrieking]

[camera clicks]

[gunfire]

[villagers screaming]

[man moaning]

[shouts in foreign language]

[soldiers shout in foreign language]

- [soldier shouts in foreign language] - [man groaning]

[gunshots]

[camera clicks]

[soldier shouting in foreign language]

[shouts in foreign language]

[speaking foreign language]

[speaking English] China. So many things to draw.

But I draw very badly.

Would you care for more tea, Mr. Hogg?

[speaking foreign language]

[grunts]

[grunting]

[gunshot]

[soldiers shouting]

[gasping]

No! [screams]

[speaking foreign language]

- [speaking English] You are safe now. - [coughing]

What's your name?

What is your nationality?

British?

- And you're a journalist? - How did you know that?

Nobody but a journalist would walk into Nanjing

armed with nothing but a sports coat.

[man speaking foreign language]

[George] What is this place? What's going on? Who are you?

It's the Tax Office.

And my name is Chen. Hansheng Chen.

- Hansheng Chen? - Call me Jack, why don't you.

So, why were they going to kill you?

The Japs usually leave British nationals alone.

- I saw something I shouldn't have. - Got it.

I took photographs. They found them.

No wonder.

Pardon my ignorance, but what are you doing in the tax office?

They're killing people out there.

We are completely outnumbered here,

and the Japs are better armed, so we are going to fight another day.

[gunfire]

Hold this.

[ticking]

But before we go, we're going to blow up a few buildings.

They are very orderly, the Japanese.

They hate it when we blow up a city's records.

[speaking foreign language]

Thank you.

[gunfire continues]

[men speaking foreign language]

We'll try for the British consulate.

They may be able to get you out of Nanjing.

You have to leave.

You have to tell the world what's happening here.

I love this part.

Come on. Your friends should be this way.

[man shouting in foreign language]

[grunting]

Take it easy, Daisy.

- [man shouts in foreign language] - [Barnes] I have a pass.

- I have a pass in my pocket. - [George] Shoot him.

There's nothing we can do.

- Shoot him! - You're too reckless, George.

[speaking foreign language]

- [George screams] - [soldiers shouting in foreign language]

[George screams]

[grunting]

Ah! [coughing]

[distant gunfire]

Shoot him. Shoot him.

Shoot him.

Hey.

You were hit pretty bad.

Was I? I didn't feel a thing.

Must've been the cold numbing the pain.

Most of your blood's gone down the Yangtze.

But I decided you'll live.

I hope you're going to thank him for saving your life.

Thank you once again.

She was talking to me. Right, Lee?

So, you're an Oxford man.

- What? - You talk a lot in your sleep.

What about you?

You didn't learn your English at Berlitz, if I may say so.

West Point.

I thought you were a communist.

I am. Figure it out yourself.

And when you do, you will understand much more about China.

I never thought of you as the kind to pick up strays.

Not male ones, anyhow.

I can't just dump him out here, can I?

Well, he won't be up to much for at least a month.

I can't get him back to Shanghai.

So, Miss Pearson,

tell me what in God's name I'm going to do with a six-foot Oxford graduate

who can't speak a word of Chinese.

Jack! Have you ever heard of a place called Huang Shi?

You know, I came back to China to teach engineering.

Now I'm teaching peasants how to blow things up.

To tell you the truth, it's much more fun.

Seriously?

Seriously. I travel around to organize the resistance,

and try to stay ahead of the Japanese army.

- I have to leave tomorrow. - Take me with you.

How fit do I need to be to use a typewriter, for God's sake?

I'm not worried about you.

I'm worried about the poor bastards who have to carry you around with them.

But there is a place up in the northwest. It's called Huang Shi.

It's somewhere you can pick up good background material

and work on your Chinese while you are convalescing,

before you go on to the front.

[speaking foreign language]

- Very good. - Did you understand it?

I certainly did.

You said, "Let me introduce myself. I'm a pumpkin."

This area is controlled by the Communists, this by our Nationalist brothers-in-arms.

You will take the train as far as Baoji here.

And Huang Shi is right about here.

- That's where you're going. - [nationalistic music playing]

[whispers in foreign language]

- Chen? - Hey! Get down!

[George] What's the matter? They're not the Japanese.

[Chen] No. They are not.

They're the government troops of Chiang Kai-shek.

- Nationalists? - Yeah.

- I thought you were brothers. - Sometimes.

[George] I thought you were fighting together against the Japanese.

When it suits them or us.

This could be one of those times. Or maybe not.

[train whistle blares]

- [George] What are they doing here? - [Chen] They're conscripts from the south.

They like to take them far from their homes,

so they are less likely to run away.

[soldiers shouting foreign language]

[sirens wailing]

[men shouting, wailing]

They're trapped.

[men shouting, screaming]

[screaming]

[woman speaking foreign language]

[all chattering]

[train whistle blaring]

Hello!

Hello!

Hello!

[clacking]

[boys whispering]

[George] Who's in charge here?

This is for the person in charge.

I said this is for the person in charge.

[speaking foreign language]

[children laughing]

I am in charge, Mr. Pig.

- Hogg. - It says Pig.

How is it you speak English?

I'm not a peasant like these others.

I am Liu Shi-Kai. My father is a government official.

[boys speaking foreign language]

[speaking foreign language]

[speaking foreign language]

[Chinese string music playing]

[George] Grown-ups.

Teachers.

Where?

[crickets chirping]

[kids chattering in distance]

[speaking foreign language]

[cricket chirping]

[chirping]

[sighs]

[groans]

[boy speaking foreign language]

[speaking foreign language]

[child laughs]

Who's there?

[screams]

[boys squawking]

[George screaming]

[boys squawking]

[speaking foreign language]

- [boys squawking, yelling] - [George grunting]

Ah!

You give me one good reason why I should be bluffing, Shi-Kai.

[boys murmur]

[George] What's the matter with them? They're like animals.

How long have you been in this country?

- Five weeks. And you? - Five years.

- Here. Let me take a look at that. - You're the nurse, aren't you? Lee.

- Lee Pearson. - How do you do? I'm George.

I know who you are.

It was my idea to send you here.

- [bell ringing] - [boys chattering]

[woman speaking foreign language]

[Lee] The great Oxford University scholar.

Hmm. Jack Chen has given you quite an introduction here.

Except he's called you Mr. Pig.

It's not that funny.

- [grunts] - [speaking foreign language]

He's a very nasty bit of work, that one.

I can't think why.

He only saw his father beheaded, his mother raped and beheaded,

his sister raped and beheaded.

After that, they lined him up on the edge of a pit to be machine-gunned.

He's a smart kid.

He waited until he felt the guy next to him get hit.

Stop it. Please.

- Nanjing. I was there. - Jack told me.

That's why I thought you'd be good here.

You're going to need a Chinese name, you know.

One they can actually say.

Hogg. Ho-Ke.

You're out of your mind if you think I'm staying here.

I didn't come halfway round the world to play nanny to a bunch of savages.

- [Lee] Okay. - [George] So in the morning,

if you'd kindly point me in the direction of the war and I'll be off.

I said okay.

Why do they give you such a wide berth?

Out here people die all the time, typhus, cholera, tetanus.

Anyone gives me any trouble, I just tell them,

"One day you graze yourself. You'll think it's nothing.

Next day you wake up with a fever. You think it's a cold. That's all.

Pretty soon your bones ache, your jaw locks, your teeth clamp together

and slowly, very, very slowly, you die of tetanus."

In my bag I have vaccines when I can get them.

If I go, the bag goes with me, so who's going to mess with me?

Why don't they just close this school and send the boys home to their families?

This isn't a school.

- It looks like a school. - This is an orphanage.

Every one of them has a story, just like Shi-Kai's.

Now you want to find your war, Mr. Hogg? Look around.

Because they don't need a teacher.

What they need is someone who can make them care whether they live or die.

[Lee] The beds are crawling with lice.

- The kids are, too. - [George] How adorable.

No joke. Body lice carry typhus.

Okay. Now for the boys.

What are you going to do? Boil them? Jolly good.

Flea powder.

I haven't been able to get my hands on any before.

But the thing is to figure out how to make them understand it won't hurt.

[George] I'm sure you'll manage.

[speaking foreign language]

Scratch.

Smile.

Now take off your clothes.

Oh, for Pete's sake, it's nothing I haven't seen before.

[speaking foreign language]

[children laughing]

Hands.

Ah! Ah!

[children laughing]

No lice. We won't have to shave your head, too.

Is that a promise?

You're not vain, are you, Mr. Pig?

I hadn't thought so. Christ. What now?

- Coffee. - Coffee?

[Lee] Here's to you, George.

[George] I haven't had real coffee since Shanghai.

- [Lee] So, why China? - Because it's in trouble.

Because everyone back home is waiting for the shoe to drop,

waiting for the next war.

It's like being stuck in a cellar waiting for a storm to break.

I went to the States first.

Hitchhiked across the country twice.

But they're hunched down in their bunk holes even deeper than we are.

[American accent] "War? What war, mister? We're in a depression here."

And so then I went on to Japan, learned some Japanese.

And they'll tell you they don't want war either,

just ask them.

And then I went to Nanjing.

And I saw unspeakable things.

I begged Jack Chen to kill a man.

I never knew I had hate like that in me.

Everybody feels hate sometimes.

No. Not us.

You see, my family are pacifists.

And not just your quiet, normal, private pacifists. Oh, no.

They're famous for it.

My mother had Gandhi to tea.

And my father went to jail during the last war.

He's the bravest man I know.

And now I think they're wrong.

I think there are times one must fight.

Other people fight and die.

And there I am at my typewriter, only I seem to have misplaced that now, too.

[door opens]

You saved lives today, George.

You sure didn't look like much of a hero, and I bet you didn't feel like one.

But you know what? It worked just fine.

Couldn't sleep?

Me neither.

One of the kids had the runs. God-awful mess.

- You can keep the mule, by the way. - You're leaving?

I've got a bunch of medical stations to run.

I only stopped off to bring you that grain.

My guess, it'll last you about three weeks.

After that, you'll have to try to find them something.

- It's up to you. - But when will you be back?

- May. - But this is March!

They're like kids anywhere, George.

They need to be warm, safe, clean and fed.

Now, if you can manage even one of those, you'll be ahead of the game.

Now, you listen to me. I'm not staying here.

- You find someone else! - There is no one else.

You have to stay, George.

Bugger.

[speaking foreign language]

[speaking foreign language]

[Chinese string music playing]

[speaking foreign language]

[children gasp]

You. Come and help me?

Yes, you.

Come.

[exclaiming in foreign language]

[all cheering]

[all grunting]

[shouting in foreign language]

[boys chattering]

Go!

[boys groan]

Oh!

[George and boys cheering]

[George chattering, indistinct]

Whoa!

[all cheering]

[boy] Ho-Ke? Ho-Ke?

Hogg. My name is Hogg.

- Ching. - Ching.

[speaking foreign language]

I'm writing a sort of letter.

I'll be with you in a minute.

[speaking foreign language]

Hey, stop that.

What's the matter?

"Tabba." "Tabba."

"Tabba."

Table. It's a table.

Table. Table.

Table.

- Table, table, table, table! - Okay. Okay.

Chair.

Chair.

Student.

Student.

Student.

That's you.

Teacher. I guess that means me.

[boy] Student. Teacher.

[George] I'm looking for Merchant Wang.

[George speaking foreign language]

[crowd chattering]

[speaking foreign language]

[speaking foreign language]

[George speaking foreign language]

Please excuse my poor house, Mr. Hogg.

It has fallen on evil times.

The war?

War. Revolution. Also gambling. Also opium.

So many ways to spend money and to get nothing in return.

Hmm.

I take only solid currencies.

If you can only pay in Chinese dollars,

then the price, I'm afraid, will have to double.

I should like to pay in vegetables.

Vegetables are solid currency.

- English humor. - You advance us the food and the seed,

we do all the work.

You take your share of the harvest.

Crops fail, Mr. Hogg.

What is this?

Durham wheat. Last year's harvest.

Red lentils. I shouldn't think they'd do well in this climate.

We can do business.

Please come again, Mr. Hogg. And send my regards to Miss Pearson.

Yes, of course.

I hope you're having fun, Yu-Lin.

[speaking foreign language]

[boys laughing, chattering]

[thunder rumbling]

Wei-Ping.

[speaks foreign language]

- Dog. - Dog.

Dog.

- "Gg." - "Gg."

- Dog. - Dog.

[boy teaching] Dog.

[all boys] Dog.

- [boy teaching] Dog. - [all boys] Dog.

- Dog. - [all boys] Dog.

- [all boys] Dog. - Dog.

- Dog. - [loud clang]

[boy speaking foreign language]

[boys gasp]

[speaking foreign language]

[loud clang]

[grunts loudly]

[George] Shi-Kai! Don't!

[both grunting]

Oh, Shi-Kai.

[Lee] You won't be able to save him, you know.

You might be able to limit the damage he can do.

No more.

You never told me what brought you here, Lee.

Freedom, I guess. And what happens?

I end up in a dark hovel with centuries of soot falling on my head

doing an amputation by candlelight.

You're a surgeon, then?

When a man's dying of gangrene,

he tends not to check the letters after your name.

When there's no one else, you do what has to be done.

I'm not really a nurse, either. Just like you.

You're not really a teacher.

We're all something different in China. That's why we came.

I was supposed to be an army wife in Manila,

but I couldn't play bridge.

Funny how life works out.

[dial ratchets]

[jazz plays on radio]

[George] What on earth?

It's my one treasure.

- Do you dance, George? - No.

Oh, come on. Sure you do.

[jazz echoing]

[boy humming]

[cricket chirping]

It's good to see you, Lee.

[airplanes buzzing]

- [George] Are you going to stay? - [Lee] Oh, I think so.

A while. And you?

I think so.

Yes.

[clattering]

[grunts]

Lo San.

[speaking foreign language]

[laughs]

[Lo San scolds]

Let's take a look at this.

[Lee speaks foreign language]

[Lee] Let me see here.

Oh!

You, too. [speaks foreign language]

- Ching. - [Lee] You'll do just fine.

Just fine.

[boy speaking foreign language]

[speaks foreign language]

Here.

[George] "Though I am old with wandering

- Through hollow lands and hilly lands..." - Ho-Ke.

"I will find out where she has gone, and kiss her lips and take her hands..."

[airplanes buzzing]

"...And walk among the long dappled grass."

[groaning]

Ching?

[goats bleating]

Hey, hey, hey.

Shh.

It's all right. You're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you, Ching.

Goats?

Are you crazy? They'll eat more than the milk they give.

They're for clearing ground. My mother was a great gardener.

- She had goats. - Don't you ever touch my things.

I'm sorry. I thought you'd be more comfortable.

Well, you thought wrong.

Where are you going?

Okay then, when will you be back? Don't be so ridiculous!

You can't just leave! Lee!

[horse whinnying]

How's Uncle Jing today?

His tumor is worse, and he wants more pipe.

It'll kill him now.

Maybe that won't be such a bad thing.

I heard today, the Nationalists have found a solution to the opium problem.

- They're going to behead all the addicts. - I heard the same thing.

Addicts and people who deal in opium.

The Japanese behead you for being Chinese.

So, Miss Pearson, what can I do for you?

I was hoping you might have some sulfa powder.

Nobody's got sulfa powder, not even the Japanese.

It will be sad for your friend. Nobody to talk to but those boys.

- I think he will be lonely. - I think he'll be just fine.

You say that because you are never lonely.

Well, you should go visit him, if you think he's so lonely.

I don't have time for the problems of people with no problems.

What do you have in the way of morphine?

- That's all you've got? - No. But you're not my only customer.

Take opium instead.

You know what they say about opium.

You still feel the pain, but it doesn't hurt anymore.

[Wang] Six months ago, they were filthy, starving, diseased

and of no value to anyone, and now...

I'm very impressed.

I have to confess, Mr. Hogg. I did not think you could do it.

I have to confess, Mrs. Wang, neither did I.

[chuckles]

I hope you will do me the honor of accepting a small gift.

Good Lord, it's in English. Where did you get it?

A missionary gave it to me for being a very good girl.

[laughs]

The Silk Road.

It was the link between the East and West for more than 2,000 years.

- It seemed appropriate. - Thank you.

May it seal our friendship.

Yes.

Da-duh! Da-dhu!

[woman speaking foreign language]

[George speaking foreign language]

Lao Si?

[all shouting]

[women screaming]

[all shouting, screaming]

[children sobbing]

[child crying]

[boys speaking foreign language]

[speaking foreign language]

Oh, Lao Si. Ching?

[speaking foreign language]

[boys respond in foreign language]

[airplanes buzzing]

[distant explosions]

Not wounded!

[shouts in foreign language]

Not wounded! Get him out of here! Get him something to eat!

We've had 40, no, 50 guys in here today

who are nothing but piles of bones held together by their uniforms.

They're dying of hunger, not gunshots, Jack.

The Nationalists are starving their own army.

- What's the point of our being here? - None.

They are letting the Japs have Lingbao.

I've been ordered to evacuate.

Well, my wounded won't survive being moved.

Take the ones that will.

[bomb whistling]

Why are you taking off your uniform?

I thought I'd stick around a little longer...

prepare a little welcome for the Japs.

I'll make them as comfortable as I can. You know that.

Be careful.

[men shouting in foreign language]

Jack!

[shouts]

- George. - My God. Chen!

Chen!

Have you pissed yourself?

Oh, Jesus. He's wet the bed.

[both chuckle]

How is she?

Exhausted.

Lingbao.

It was pretty bad. I was lucky.

She got out before the worst.

Will the Japanese get this far?

Maybe. Maybe not.

The trouble is, I've seen what happens when they do.

Hello. Can we come in?

Who's this?

- Hello, Ching. - Hello.

And this is Lao Si.

Oh, my goodness.

Coffee?

- And steamed bread, with honey. - Honey?

Come on, Lao Si.

He'll have that bread off you, if you as much as blink.

His main objective in life is greater rotundity.

- Is this all right with you? - It's fine.

Ching.

- Bye-bye. - Bye-bye.

Lee.

Jack Chen is here.

He's been sick for the last week.

You're impossible, you know. I thought you were dead as dirt.

It's malaria. He's had it for years.

They all have it. He'll be on his feet in no time.

They've put a price on your head, you know.

Oh, yeah? How much?

- Ten thousand yuan. - I say, Jack.

That's about thirty bucks, US, George.

- That hurts my feelings. - It's a fortune around here.

[nationalistic music playing]

- [George] Six. - [boys] Six.

[speaking foreign language]

- Seven. - Seven.

[speaking foreign language]

We've got Nationalist visitors. Stall them if you can.

[speaking foreign language]

[George] Quietly, quietly.

[man speaking foreign language]

[laughs]

[men shouting in foreign language]

[men shouting in foreign language]

Mr. Hogg, you are free.

How much did that cost?

Only slightly more than what I think you are worth.

Thank you.

If they decide to call me a communist,

they'll close the school, and they'll conscript the children.

Of course. And I'm afraid it will only be a matter of days.

[men shouting in foreign language]

[loud slamming, clattering]

Stay here.

[Wang speaking foreign language]

- [George] What was all that about? - Bandits.

There's no one to control them nowadays.

They claim they have opium to sell, but the packages are full of dirt.

Maybe it would be safer not to sell opium.

Safe? Nothing is safe.

You neither. You have all those strong soldier boys.

You are like a farmer with too many fat, juicy sheep.

[speaking foreign language]

[Lee] So where do you propose we take them?

- Up the Silk Road. - Through the mountains?

With snow and children, at 10,000 feet?

- That's insane. - Actually, I mean to take them further,

beyond Lanzhou.

Have you ever heard of Shandan?

Shandan's on the edge of the Gobi Desert.

It's about 700 miles from here.

Seven hundred miles. Hogg, there's probably nothing there.

Exactly. There's nothing there. Nothing anybody could possibly want.

Somewhere they'll be safe.

Chen will come with us as far as the Yellow River.

Then he'll turn off and join his Communist pals in Yan'an.

- What about you? - What about me?

Will you go with Jack,

or will you stay with us and head for Shandan?

Is that what you're asking me?

[Chen] He's got fire in his belly, that one.

I would like to take him with me when I rejoin my unit.

No.

- He's not a child. - You're right. He's not.

He hasn't been a child for a very long time.

Yes. We were lovers once.

It didn't work out, so...

Now we're friends.

That works.

I guess I just didn't want enough from him.

You fellows want so much to be needed.

Everybody wants that, even you.

Me, especially.

So what's it going to be? Yan'an with him? Or Shandan with us?

If I had any brains, I'd stay right here.

[George speaking foreign language]

Wound dressings. Captured from the Japanese.

Each one of them contains a single, sterile dressing,

wrapped around a tablet of morphine. Handy, huh?

No wounded for us. That's an order.

[boys chattering]

No! No, I'll take that.

As long as we have something to trade, we'll survive.

Yes, I would say so.

But, still, this is an ambitious enterprise.

You are a remarkable man, Mr. Hogg.

I have greatly enjoyed doing business with you.

This is your custom?

When we say good-bye to a great lady.

Well, good-bye, Mr. Hogg, and farewell.

[George] Come on, boys!

Hang-Ger! Zuien-ze!

Xiao Bang! Mang Si!

Rou-Ding, Lao Tung?

Muriel?

Lao Da?

Lao San? Lao Er?

Lao Si?

Yu-Lin? Shi-Kai?

Yu-Lin! [echoing]

Yu-Lin!

Oh, Yu-Lin.

Yu-Lin? Yu-Lin.

It's all right.

Yu-Lin?

Yu-Lin?

Oh, Ching.

[Lee] I thought he was happy. I really did.

But we'll never know what went on the last time he was happy.

Maybe someone, his mother or father or sister or whoever, said,

"Ching, we have to leave here."

And then something happened,

something so awful, we can't even begin to imagine it.

It doesn't go away.

It never goes away, and I know that.

But all of this, flowers and honey, and...

I forgot.

I'm sorry, Ching. I forgot.

[people chatting in foreign language]

Shh!

Be quiet.

[George] Come on, boys. Come on.

[George whispering, indistinct]

Shh!

Quiet, boys. That's it.

[speaking foreign language]

Here, I'll take him.

Come on, sleepyhead. Shh. Shh.

Did you give that to him?

Let him keep it, George. It's who he is.

[men chatting in foreign language]

There is an abandoned farmhouse just the other side of the village.

We can camp there.

Also, he swears he saw a couple of Japanese only two days ago.

Shi-Kai, go and sleep now. I'll take over.

- Shi-Kai, did you hear me? - Shh.

They're there. I can smell them.

- [grunts] - Shh.

- [record scratch, loud music] - [exclaims in foreign language]

[men shouting in foreign language]

[man] Shi-Kai!

[music stops]

[shouting in foreign language]

Shi-Kai! The door!

[shouting in foreign language]

- We have to kill them, you know. - No.

Don't be stupid, George. They are scouts.

If they get away, they will rejoin their unit.

- I'll do it. - I said no!

[George] Where's Shi-Kai?

Have you seen Shi-Kai?

[speaking foreign language]

[gunfire]

[speaking foreign language]

Shi-Kai!

[speaking foreign language]

When we reach the Silk Road, I want you to leave us.

[George] Come on, boys! Keep moving!

[speaking foreign language]

[George] That's it.

[braying]

[boy]

It's okay.

[soldier speaking in foreign language]

My God.

No!

No! No!

[speaking foreign language]

- Shi-Kai! - [boys shouting in foreign language]

[George] Shi-Kai! Put the gun down now!

[shouting in foreign language]

[George] Shi-Kai!

Shi-Kai! The wagon!

[Lee] Shi-Kai!

Shi-Kai!

[all grunting]

[Chen shouting in foreign language]

[boys shouting in foreign language]

[Shi-Kai moaning]

Lee, I thought you said there was morphine in these.

Lee!

Lee! Where are you?

- I'm here. - [George] Hurry up!

- It's all that's left. - What?

[boy moaning softly]

[speaking foreign language]

He's sleeping?

[Lee] He won't wake up now.

Sometime in the next hour or two, he'll die.

Sleep, Shi-Kai.

Everything's all right now.

Go find them. Okay? Go find your family.

Sleep, sleep.

[donkey braying]

[moaning]

It's okay. Easy, easy.

You and I have one thing in common, George,

we are both from good families.

We have the luxury of our ideals.

Lee, she is the one who's different.

It's never a matter of ideals to her, but something deep in her gut.

She can't look at these people without feeling their pain.

When it got too much, she took opium to deal with her pain.

Have you ever heard of "the Bitter Sea"?

It's an old name for China.

What we Chinese do best, is to endure.

We try to keep our heads above water.

That's all.

While the Bitter Sea swirls around us...

we endure.

But, you know, Lee's more Chinese than either of us.

She doesn't believe in the future, because like the Chinese,

she doesn't think she deserves one.

George, you're going to show her she does.

You're still in love with her.

Not me. I'm otherwise engaged.

You thought I was such a goddamn saint, didn't you, George?

Well, now you know.

Now you know.

Well, you're certainly no lady.

You're a brave, beautiful woman.

You're the bravest, most beautiful woman I've ever met.

Tell her good-bye for me.

Come on, Lao Si.

That's the Yellow River. And just this side of it, Lanzhou.

[speaking foreign language]

[speaking foreign language]

[George speaking foreign language]

[speaking foreign language]

- [boys chattering] - Ah!

[speaking foreign language]

Hogg, do you see that? Hogg?

Hogg!

[wind gusting]

[shouting in foreign language]

[grunts]

[groaning]

[George] Is everybody all right?

- Hogg? Are you okay? - Just a scratch.

- [speaking foreign language] - [boys respond in foreign language]

All right.

My God, where have you brought us? The 14th century?

Look!

There it is, beyond the watchtower. Shandan.

[man shouting in foreign language]

[shouting in foreign language]

[Lee] Thanks.

- [George] Come on, boys. Time for bed. - [Lee] Shh.

[boys chattering]

- [George speaks in foreign language] - [boys repeat in foreign language]

- [George] Good night, boys. - [Lee] Good night.

[boys] Good night.

Hey. Quick.

What are you doing in here, pumpkin?

[grunts]

You're getting so heavy.

[boys chattering]

[speaking foreign language]

[all cheering]

[all chattering]

[speaking foreign language]

Coffee.

Mmm.

- Where on earth did you find this? - Surprise.

I thought I'd lost it. Untouched the whole way.

Celebration.

Are you all right?

Flu, I think. Tired.

Here. Drink this and I'll take a look at you.

Actually, I...

Hogg!

Hogg?

Rou-Ding.

They'll have this in Lanzhou. Okay?

We've run out of this.

- Okay, hurry! Please, hurry! Please! - [motorcycle engine starts]

[shouting in foreign language]

[speaking foreign language]

[shouting in foreign language]

- Hey. - Lee?

- Lee? - Yeah?

- I'm not scared. - No, of course not.

Rou-Ding's coming with serum. You're going to be fine.

No. But it's all right.

I don't like to be contradicted, Hogg. You know that.

I've been so lucky, Lee.

I've been so lucky.

Hold him tight. That's good.

[cries out]

Shh. It's okay, it's going to be okay.

Ching.

[speaks foreign language]

Jack.

Oh, Jack.

I only found out a week ago.

Somebody came from Lanzhou.

- I'm fine, Jack. - We need you.

The boys are safe now. They can manage on their own.

[boy chatting]

[speaking foreign language]

Lee. I'm serious.

Maybe these boys don't need me, Jack, but I need them.

Oh, yes, I do need them.

You're a brave boy, Lao Si.

Brave boy.

The four of us would never have survived without Hogg.

That's certain.

We brothers didn't know our birthdays.

Even my older brother didn't know.

When asked, we all say the 22nd.

This was the day George Hogg died.

Hogg gave a speech.

He wrote three words on the blackboard, in English.

Where do we want to go, why and how. He had his methods.

Then he explained how far it was to Shandan, over 1, 000 kilometers.

We would march there,

our belongings packed on handcarts and mule carriages.

We kept hearing that Shandan was so cold,

that your nose would break off if you touched it.

And when you pee, it would become an ice stick,

but Hogg assured us it wouldn't be that bad.

It was a very cold winter.

And walking all the way through snow and on icy roads,

it took us over two months.

Later, people called this The Long March in Miniature.

He was a perfect man.

Everybody has his flaws, but I couldn't find any in Hogg.

He was always smiling when talking to us.

He knew, and he taught us what to hate and what to love.

The Chinese people remember those foreigners

who helped China during those struggles.

No matter how the world may change,

we, the Chinese, will never forget them.